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lovely beginner puzzle

My son really loves puzzles and at the moment he really can't get enough of the two piece ones. Being 20 months, these are a lovely introduction for him to how real puzzles work but not too complex that he becomes frustrated. One of the ones he has in his collection is this numbers and textures puzzle by Marks & Spencer. This was bought a few years ago for his older cousin but the puzzles in this range from M&S currently cost around £5 and is suitable for children from 12 months of age.

The puzzle comes in a neat box that is like a house in shape. It has carry handles and a fold-over lid. Inside, there are twenty pieces - so ten different puzzles. The puzzles are each of a different animal and somewhere on each puzzle, there is a number displayed. The number corresponds to a textured part on the animal - for example three spots on the giraffe, which are soft for the child to feel.

The animals are those that most children will be familiar with and that will appeal to them - for example, lion, elephant, zebra, monkey. They are brightly coloured so very engaging as well. The puzzle pieces are a nice size to fit in a toddler's hand and piece together. They also slot together nicely and are not stiff at all - so minimising frustration. My son loves doing these and will do them over and over again. He really loves animals too so they are really appropriate for him and he loves the fact that there are textured spots for him to explore too. He also has a love of counting so it is great for him to learn his numbers with too.

This is a really lovely puzzle for toddlers and at a good price. They are well made and do not damage easily - they stand up to rough handling and 'forcing' together by a toddler's heavy hand well. My son really loves these and they have helped develop his problem solving and manipulative skills. My son also loves to put these puzzles back in the box because of it's shape - which is a definite bonus for me as I don't often get much help with packing away!